Free Ferelden (BoL Hack) - Game Thread

[Tibbius]

The group of three make their way to the base of the fortress without further incident. Circumperambulating, they find that the main level is about fifteen feet above the bottom of the clearing and that the windows of the lowest level are barred and above their reach by a couple of feet. At the back side of the fortress, there is a pool of dark and greasy looking liquid, dozens of feet across and right up against the base of the building. Right above where the pool touches the foundation, a cracked clay pipe protrudes a few feet from the stonework. The pipe is a couple of feet in diameter.

As they stand gazing at the pool and discussing what to do next, they hear a piece of stone clatter down the wall of the building.

[MinotaurWarblad]

James's bow comes out and an arrow is pulled back faster than a heartbeat.
"Who goes there?" he asks in the direction of the sound.

[whiteflash]

Jacques raises the knife he'd drawn a while ago and looks around, in case someone or something is using the rock as a distraction.

[Tibbius]

They see nothing.

[Tibbius]

Spoiler: OoC

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It seems like ACE has dropped out of this game. Since his character is the main reason for your characters being where they are, I could NPC him or we could drop the game. Please let me know your level of interest for continuing.

[whiteflash]

Spoiler: OOC

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I'm interested in continuing.

[MinotaurWarblad]

Spoiler

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I'm interested in continuing, but maybe offer up recruitment again to try and snag another player?

[Tibbius]

Spoiler: OoC

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Mr. Stereo is willing to step in and play Abe Sandous, he just wants a few days to read up on the thread and rules.

[MinotaurWarblad]

Spoiler: OoC

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Perfectamundo!

[whiteflash]

Spoiler: OoC

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Sounds good to me.

[Mr Stereo1]

Abe chuckled at his friends' jumpiness.

"Oh calm yourselves, friends!" The carefree mage waved his hand at his two weapon-waving accomplices and chastised their paranoia. "This is a ruin, of course it's falling apart! More interesting is this... substance." The nobleman looks uncertainly at the goopy black liquid pooling below them.

Taking out his Alchemist Kit Abe examines the liquid and tries to identify it. He looks for any sign of the fade as well.

Spoiler: Roll

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Mind 4 and Alchemist 1 for +5

(1d20+5)[16](16) to identify the Black Liquid and check if it's magic.

"Do you think you could shimmy through that pipe if you had to, James?" Abe asked his Elven friend. "I wouldn't recommend it as our first recourse, naturally, but you are a rather nimble fellow."

[MinotaurWarblad]

"If necessary, though I'd prefer not to."

[Tibbius]

The dark ichor of the pool was not water, but more like rancid vegetable oil. Abe didn't have the time or laboratory with him to run a proper alchemic analysis. He suspected, however, that this liquid was related to something of the Fade. Or darkspawn.

It seemed that they either could climb in through the big oozy pipe, try to get a rope up to the barred window ten feet above their heads, or go around to the front and clamber up the side of the causeway to get to the main entrance.

[whiteflash]

"Well, we're not getting through that window, even if we can get up there..."

Jacques looks at the stone around it to see if they can climb from that window to the roof.

[MinotaurWarblad]

“I am fine with climbing in the pipe. Vote your preference? Front or back?”

[Mr Stereo1]

It wasn't a pleasant conclusion for Abe, but a mysterious oil seeping an abandoned ruin well above ground wasn't a situation with natural causes to begin with. From a Grey Warden fortress the Orlesian nobleman was forced to the worst scenario, which also happened to be the most exciting.

"Friends, I do believe we find ourselves in as delightfully a dangerous situation as we'd feared and hoped." Abe expanded, pushing a vial of the 'tar' to the two under educated servants of his motley 'incognito' retinue. "This unpleasant substance has the touch of the fade to it, by my eyes, nose and other senses. A corrupt sort I wouldn't be hesitant to match to the Darkspawn, in the company of the honorable Grey Warden's remains. The scale of the pooling liquid suggests powerful magic was being worked here, and you may note the dripping pipe that seems to imply some of that's still lingering... and makes me wonder what stopped the Wardens tidying up." Abe trails off letting the lesser minds of his compatriots conjure up the intimidating possibilities of what lay inside the keep with what limited imagination they possessed.

"How a band of enterprising individuals such as ourselves should expect to profit from whatever produced this unpleasantness is a question for tomorrow, but I should expect today we'll be facing Demons or Darkspawn inside those walls mighty enough the feared Wardens didn't vanquished them!" Abe's voice rose to an encouraging tone his father often used when presenting honors to his Chevaliers. "We'll need to keep our every wit about us and take the fiends by surprise!"

"Storming the front gate would needlessly place your good health at risk but I can spell a rope up to the window, if I must." He allowed benevolently. "Fetch one then you may go clear the room and pull me up once our entryway is safe. Together we'll strike out and catch our foe from behind!"

Spoiler: OOC

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Yes, Abe's a nobleman who's genuinely smarter than anyone else in the vast majority of rooms he's even been in. Feel free to deflate him but I like a pompous narrative.

I'd like to cast a spell to secure a rope to the barred window. One of the examples of a Cantrip is making a rope slither up a castle wall so would you accept a Cantrip casting to do that, Tibbius?

[Tibbius]

Spoiler: OoC

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Yes, I'm good with a Cantrip to get a rope up there and secure it to something. What to do about the old rusty bars, that's a different question.

Gazing up at the fifty feet of rough stone wall that rose to the roof, Jacques estimated that anyone with a reasonable amount of athleticism would have a fair chance at making the climb given all the handholds on and between the blocks that made the wall. It was not a superlative work of masonry by any means, and probably drafty in the snowy winters. The salient concern for Jacques, however, was that a fall from the window or above might well be fatal.

[whiteflash]

How old and rusty are the bars? Could they be removed from the window somehow?

[MinotaurWarblad]

James carefully eyes the rope and window. He kneels and pulls of his backpack, which was more of a long, ornate, multi-pocketed brown case with shoulder straps than any normal backpack.
Since all of his weapons were hidden in the folds of his clothes or worn openly on bandoliers and sheathes, there may be a bit of mystery as to the contents of his backpack...
And there still will be, since James only opens up the smallest pocket on the case to pull out a sparkling silver file.
“One of my many tools for artificery, this item is particularly helpful for shaping ironbark, like that of my bow. I could quietly grind down the rusted bars and pull them softly free with this, as long as the spirit inside doesn’t feel the act is too undignified compared to its intended purpose. I’d say it’s about a fifty-fifty chance it will melt through those bars like a hot knife through butter, or make no impact whatsoever.”

Spoiler: OoC

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The actual effect of my artificer tools is just to give advantage on rolls with my artificer career, but I like to add a bit of flair. More fun that way, no?

“I’ll give it a shot now.”
He goes ahead and starts climbing the rope.

[Tibbius]

Abe's cantrip took effect and the rope slithered up the wall, tracking the cracks between the blocks like a long and slender fibrous snake. At the window it wriggled and flailed for a few moments, then relaxed to hang limp down the wall.

James tugged roughly at his end of the rope, above the portion coiled on the ground. It wassolidly attached. With a grunt he braced his boots against the wall, leaned back, and began to walk foot-over-foot and hand-over-hand up the rope. Within a minute he had reached the window, where he found the rope had anchored itself not to the rusting bars but rather by forming a monkey's fist that was firmly wedged between two stone blocks. He dexterously tied off the rope around his waist, and with his file he made quick quiet work of the bars, within five minutes he had silently laid the last of the five on the sill. There now was more than adequate space to enter. The darkened stairwell inside the window appeared vacant, cool, and damp. He hesitated whether to enter immediately or return to ground and retrieve his pack.

[Mr Stereo1]

Abe silently shooed the Elf inside, and patted Jacques on the shoulder. "You go ahead next, friend. I'll probably need help getting up and best to have someone to watch the other's back when you're pulling, no? I'll tie your packs to the rope if you want them, too. Ask James if he'll be needing anything. Let's say a waving hand from either of you means you need your packs, and a steady one means you don't."

Spoiler: OOC

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Arcane Power 14/15

I'd say have Jacques go up next, Abe can tie their packs to the rope if they want to pull them up, and then James can use his Strength 2 to get my Strength -1 ass up there.

[MinotaurWarblad]

James nonchalantly waves back with a grunt.

Spoiler: OoC

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Sounds good to me. James will need his pack for the adventure, but with Jacques helping he can pull up both Abe and their belongings.

[whiteflash]

"It looks like he needs his? I'll just skip that step, though, and tell you I won't need anything I can't carry. Anyway, that means it's my turn to climb..." Jacques approaches the rope.

Spoiler: OOC

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Can we assume that Jacques changed out of his minstrel outfit, and into his more serious gear, offscreen?

[Tibbius]

In his dark clothing Jacques seemed almost to blend into the shadowed south wall of the fortress. Leaning back, he tugged the rope to make sure it was secure. Then he started to climb, walking feet up the wall and hands up the rope, just as James had done.

About eight feet above ground - halfway to the window - his feet slipped on a patch of fungus that James had stepped around.

Dangling from the rope, he swiftly swung toward the fortress and faceplanted against the wall. The impact battered him. damage - (d3)[3].

He clung to the rope, trying to avoid a scraping descent down the wall and further damage on impact with the ground. Strength check DC 10 - (d20)[17]

After a few moments gasping for the wind that had been knocked out of him, Jacques again leaned back, planted his feet, and began the rest of the ascent. It was only less than a minute before he clambered through the window. As he did so, his knee bumped against one of the rusted iron bars that James had removed. It clattered onto the wet stone at the base of the stairwell, sending metallic echoes upward.

[MinotaurWarblad]

"That was better than breaking your neck," James shrugged, offering a hand to help him up, "but I think we might need to get Abe up here quick. Might have company, if something inside heard that."

[Mr Stereo1]

Abe grimaced as he watched his serv- friend dangle from the rope and briefly wracked his mind for a suitable god to pray to for his safety. The Maker hated mages, the Dalish's gods would likely hate him for being a human let alone an Orlesian, so he had to settle for borrowing the Avvar's. Thankfully the Lady of the Skies was true and Jacques got his grip back on the rope. Abe saw the bard tumble over the window ledge and was glad a man of his superior intellect and gentle breeding wasn't expected to partake in the exertions of the common folk like his ser.... companions!

The nobleman set to tying James' pack to the end of the rope as agreed and waited for the pair to pull it up before attaching his own. There really wasn't a reason to leave their things down here, was there? Were they to descend the tower to form a motly camp in the woods come nightfall? They certainly couldn't escape back down the rope with any speed if they were overwhelmed, and at least a moment's efforts to barricade a room in the keep might serve to allow the party a loud warning before an ambush camping in the open wilderness would deny them. Not to mention some warmth and, if they found a surviving section of roof, protection from the rain. Abe tied Jacques' pack to the rope for good measure and waited for it to be thrown back down a final time.

With a heavy sigh the soft-handed and... gently built nobleman tied the rope around his waist and prayed once more to the Avvari's gods who had served Jacques so well.

Spoiler: OOC

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I'm in no rush to be caught half way up if Jacques and James don't give Abe the signal to come up yet and want to deal with whatever threat's approaching first. Abe is definitely sending up everyone's gear before he gets on the rope himself, on the basis that he's realizing there's no escape back down the way they came anyway.

As for climbing... at -1 stat and zero relevant career skills I'm clearly going to need help. Abe'll just wait until people are free to pull him up, as I'm not eager to spend more AP before hitting the demon or darkspawn infested tower.

[whiteflash]

Jacques cursed in two different languages as he climbed through the window, but desisted at the reminder that only the living felt pain.

"Yeah, there's that."

He nodded at the reminder that their employer was still on the ground. "You're right. We should probably get him up here. Want some help pulling?"

[Tibbius]

James and Jacques stand at the bottom of a shadowy staircase that ascends around the sides of a square with a small shaft down the middle. The thick wooden steps above them are supported by beams that are cantilevered inward from the stonewalls. In addition to the cloudy light from the window they entered, the shaft is lit from above. But the light is meager. There is a smell of damp and rotting wood.

The iron bar that Jacques knocked down lies at their feet on the paved stone floor, about three feet below the window sill.

From somewhere above they hear the sound of a door creaking open.

[whiteflash]

"Oh, that's not ominous..." Jacques whispered to his comrade.

[MinotaurWarblad]

Whispering back, James says, "I'll get him in. Head up a little and let me know if we can parley or if we need to run when Abe's with us."
His voice is interrupted with quiet grunts and small huffs of breath.

Spoiler: OoC

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(1d20+4)[16] Str+Soldier. If I have to, I'll spend a hero point or two to get our stuff and Abe up here and do it quick.